a friend of the devil is a friend of mine

Despite the best efforts of winter, I did not have an accident today while driving first to the doctor's office to get the Mirena checked (all fine, hang in there, being the upshot) and to get my new glasses prescription. Also, because winter made me late, I got rather more done on The Goblin Emperor than I had expected. (This is why I carry a notebook with me. It saves me from doctor's-office magazines--or Nothing At All To Read which, as you know, Bob, is a fate worse than death.)

Every once...